TOKYO--Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima, Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani, and Pong inventor Nolan Bushnell will all be appearing at a special event in Japan...and it's not Tokyo Game Show 2006. The Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto prefecture announced that its Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference for this year will be focused specifically on video games. With the official support of the International Game Developer Association, the one-day conference will take place December 2, and it will feature an impressive lineup of game developers as guest speakers.

　　The Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference 2005 will be divided into two parts and will feature nine speakers, including the four previously mentioned. Bushnell, the founder of Atari, will start off the conference by talking about the origins of game design and technology. Adding to the subject will be Namco's Iwatani and Nintendo adviser Masayuki Kamimura, who worked as a hardware engineer for the company in its NES era.

　　The second part of the conference will tackle current gaming technology and what's in store for the future. Talking about the subject will be Nintendo's Miyamoto, Konami's Kojima, Valve Software programmer Robin Walker, and Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura.

　　The Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference 2005 will be open to the general public through preregistration, which will begin soon at the university's official site. Entrance will be free.